maurice1369

Hello all, I just thought I would chime in from merry ole Afghanistan. Where the sun is always hot and the camels hotter. Now on a serious note people. I arrived in Afghanistan on January 21, 2007 and i weighed in at a hefty 250+ pounds. Well, we are almost in September and last time I wieghed in I was a little under 210 pounds. I must admit when I first arrived out here I did not want to exercise or lose weight at all. But, Thankfully I am in the ARMY and I don't always get what I want. I had a few people push me until I started to lose weight and I actually liked it. Now My goal is to to 195 pounds by Christmas time. I will still be in Afghanistan until January or February but the whole purpose was to be able to fly a smaller canopy but keep a low wingloading. Also, I have included a picture of what I looked like in January and a picture of me a few months ago. I am the white guy. But as you can see I have lost alot of fat and to be honest I feel like I was 21 again EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hey Loli-75 I know exactly what you mean. When I went to do my tandem last year I had gone for the sole purpose of it being something to take off of my to do list. Well, after I was on the ground and out of the harness I realized at that moment that all I wanted to do was learn how to do it on my own. But, of course ME being the rational thinking person that I am I figured that after the adrenaline was finished pumping and my mind was normal again that the thoughts of learning to jump solo would disappear. Well I was wrong. But back to the video, that was the greatest video I have ever seen. All the months I had spent at the dropzone that was how they always were. They go up scared and come down happy as hell. Well I have taken enough of your time so have a nice day and I will get ready for funtime in Afghanistan. YAY ME EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hey all out there, My name is Moe. I started out skydiving last year in may with a Tandam and then I jumped in to AFF in July the same year. I got in about 72 jumps and also bought the basic gear a skydiver needs. But soon after I made my 72nd jump I was deployed to Afghanistan. I have been here since January 18th and not a day goes by that I do not read one post or thread on dropzone.com. It is everyone on this site that helps me from not wanting to take my own life. I thank all of you and for the courage that I need to have in order to skydivr once more when I return to the states. I LOVE YOU GUYS EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Thank you airtwardo, I do appreciate the kind words. But, I wish more people would post a reply on this thread because it is good to read about how skydiving has changed people's lives. I mean I love Skydiving so much that I want to be a part of the greatest skydiving team/club in the world. THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS. To be able to get payed to do what I love more than anything in this world. Let me tell you this I used to be all about computer and video games but ever since skydiving there has been nothing more important in my life than skydiving EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hey everyone, I appreciate all the positive feedback. You know guys the hardest thing out here is when from when the sun rises all the way until the sun sets there is not a cloud in the sky. I mean there are a few days where it is dusty as hell but I long to be in the back of a plane waiting until altitude so I can enjoy the freedom of freefall. There are a handful of people who I work around that skydive but not one of them have ben infected like I have. I love skydiving and I wish I would have experienced all these sensations years ago. But, I am willing to hang up this life for the life of a skydiver. I am not worried about money because I don't make much right now anyways but at least if I was to work on a dropzone then at least I would always be able to say that I love coming to work everyday EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hello all, I am very new to the skydiving community. I made my first jump July 06 and I religiously jumped every weekend after that until I deployed to Afghanistan in January of 2007. I may only have 72 jumps but I knew after that first jump that I would be in this for the long haul. Now I am the kind of person that usually picks up something and eventually will lose all motivation to keep doing that. But for some reason skydiving has given my life a purpose and direction. I don't know if many people have felt this or even experienced but I am glad for the changes that skydiving has made to my life. I realize that skydiving is not a cheap sport to participate in but can you really put a price on the happiness and elation that jumping out of a plane can bring to your life. I really have no idea why I am even posting this I really have no one to even discuss these things with because 99.9% of the people I work with just do not understand how I can enjoy the sport of skydiving so much or even how I can spend my money on skydiving and the gear. I am in an airborne unit where most of the people I work with have jumped out of a plane for the ARMY but most of the people I have asked admit that they do not do it because they enjoy it but the real reason is because they get an extra $150 a month. I may not get payed but at least I gain some sort of satisfaction from what I do. Well, I thank you Bill Booth, Ted Strong, Dave DeWolf and Brian Germain just to name of few of the innovators of our sport because my life is bursting with new life because of what you have contributed to skydiving. And lastly, I thank all of the fellow skydivers of the world because even though we may never meet or be friends there will always be a common thread that brings us together. BLUE SKIES EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

hey there, I am interested in the Sabre2 190 I have an Safire2 190. Please let me know if you are willing to set just the canopy by itself EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I found that the best gearbag to use is an Aviator's kit bag which costs about $30 and is big enough to hold all gear and if it does not have small pockets inside already you can talk to a rigger and have him or her sew some pockets so you will be able to hold rubberbands,altimeters and whatever else you want EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

hey all, from the information that is put out on the website the class costs 1750 and it is a 2 day course. We would also have to add the cost of airfair and he is flexible on sleeping arrangements. So if we could guarantee 5 students it would cost 350 a piece and with 10 students it would cost 175 plus we would divide up the cost of airfare and hotel accomodations. The way I look at it with all the knowledge that he has to share it would be well worth the price because he teaches you how to be a safer skydiver and a better canopy pilot. I have seen what he can do but I was unable to participate in the class due to being sent to Afghanistan. So the more people we can get to sign up the better. I am gonna try to make the arrangements but I thought I would post on here to see who would be interested. PM me if you are truely interested because I do not want to have to dish out the cost of a no show but I will if I have to. So please only serious replies EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I just wanted to know if there are enough ppl out there who would want to attend the class EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hello all, I am posting this to find out if there would be anybody interested in taking the canopy control class offered by Brian Germain. I jump at Raeford in North Carolina. I want to know if there are anybody who would sign upso Brian would come to teach his class. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Well to be honest I can't tell you if going from a 210 to 190 is the best choice for you but what I can tell you is that some factors that will decide it should be can you land the 210 safely, do you feel comfortable downsizing to a 190 and the instructors at your dropzone know how you fly your canopy so you should ask their opinions about downsizing. but the most important thing to remember is do you feel comfortable with the downsize If the answer is NO then you are not ready. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I understand that but what I don't understand is that when the person I am referring to readshis religious books or talks about GOD I don't tell him that it is all pointless because I don't understand or care to understand but out of respect to him I don't comment at all about his likes. All I am saying is that even you don't understand you don't have to say how dumb or stupid something is since it is my sole source of entertainment EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I was at work the other day watching some skydiving videos. Well a co-worker of mine noticed I was watching the video and he commented that although the music was fast paced he did not understand why the music was fastpaced when the people in the video were moving pretty slow. So my question is why don't they understand??? EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hey Bro, it happens to all of us during AFF. I did not have to repeat lvl 7 but I did have to repeat lvl 4 twice and I finally passed lvl 4 on the 3 try. Hell during my 2nd attempt at lvl 4 I happened to have plowed into some treetops and got hung up, luckily I was only scratched up and did not break anything. But if it was not for my instructor encouraging me to go back up and try it again I probably would have just given up and would never have truly appreciated the beauty and thrills of skydiving. I am currently deployed to Afghanistan since January and all I have been doing since January is research as much info about all the aspects of skydiving and all the different types of gear that is out there. Not a day goes by that I don't think about skydiving. So although I only have about 72 jumps and I am still new to skydiving take it from me when I tell you to not get discouraged and just keep on trucking because once you are done with AFF and can jump on your own it will be even better than before. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I was going through the new issue of Parachutist and in the back where all the advertising is there is an ad for a company that sells stock jumpsuits. I was looking at their website and they look decent enough for anybody. I am trying to find anybody out there who has bought a jumpsuit from them. I want to know if they are good. The prices are nice and affordable for the beginner skydiver and they seem all purpose EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Fire I fully agree with you about the DZO and managers of ASC but in the end the ones that also get a bad rap are the ones that actually do all the work as far as the tandems go. People like Katie, Kate, Junior, and Jesse because the shit rolss downhill and if they ever tried to work at another DZ once people see where they used to work they will never want them to work there. The ones that get screwed over the worst are the students who show up and pay for a tandem jump and if for some reason the day's weather is shitty and no loads are sent up they only get a raincheck and are told to come back later. Honestly, other DZ'z I have seen and heard about are willing to give a refund if they are unable to jump that day or even if they can't ever return. One last thing. I bet if you checked up on any of the ASC's none of them are charter members of USPA. I know for a fact that the ASC in Cedartown, GA has not been a member of USPA since around 05-06 because of the Skyride shit that happened. You can even ask Mike Gruwell who is the owner of Chuting Star Rigging Loft because he almost lost his membership due to his affiliation with ASC and Skyride EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

N/A

I was 27 when I started skydiving and I regret none of it. The only regret I have is I wish I would have started at a younger aga EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

DUDE, I really don't know how reliable they are gonna be. As far as the staff most of the photos were taken at the other ASC in Cedartown,GA. the reason I say this is because I jumped there from July all the way to October of 2006 so I know how the place looks and unless this Alabama Skydive Center's building's are exactly like the one in Cedartown then the answer is NO they don't work there. As for "FAST EDDIE" Grantland I know for a fact that he works over in GA So my advice is to be careful and if it is genuine then have as much fun as you can while being safe at the same time. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I have a pretty important issue going on in my brain in regards to a open faced or full faced helmet. See I wear prescription glasses to correct my near sightedness and I am worried that if I keep jumping with an openfaced helmet I will lose some of my depth perception. I have been pretty good with my landings up to this point but I am interestd in trying out for the Golden Knights and I know they are BIG on always nailing their landings. I would like to get some fellow skydivers opinion on this. Should I stay with the openfaced helmet and try to just work out the kinks or should I go with the fullfaced helmet and jump with my glasses which corrects my vision to a crisp 20/15 accuity. I am not sure right now but a few helpful opinions would be great. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hello Everyone. I am currently shopping around for a jumpsuit and I am seriously considering getting a DEEPSEED suit from a company out of NZ. Is there anyone in the States that has ordered from them and if they did how was the quality of the suit. EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I am looking into possible getting a new helmet. I already have a Bonehead Pimpdaddy and I like it alot. My question is what would be better for freeflying a full face helmet or an openfaced one? Also any input on a few of the companies would be great or are they all pretty much the same and the only difference really being the customer service area EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

I already have a neptune for an altimeter but I am looking into buying an audible for my helmet. Is there really a big difference between the ones out there or what. I would appreciate any input on this subject EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!

Hello everyone, I just finished buying my rig now I am down to a couple of more things to buy. I am looking into getting a pair of freefly pants and a full jump suit. My question to everyone out there is this. What is a good company to go through to purchase a jumpsuit? I am a fast faller so I want to get a suit that will help me slow down my fall rate. Then who is a good company to go through for a nice pair of freefly pants? EXPECT THE WORST, HOPE FOR THE BEST!!!